Portable collapsible fire escape device



July 3, 1962 A. A. SILEN 3,042,143

PORTABLE COLLAPSIBLE FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1959 F/G. 3 Ha.

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United States Patent 3,042,143 PORTABLE COLLAPSTBLE FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE Aimer A. Silen, Little Fork, Minn.

Filed Jan. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 784,545 1 Claim. (Cl. 182-163) This invention relates to portable fire escape devices for use in buildings such as dwellings, schools and offices conceived and constructed for compact collapsing and storage in a small space such as a closet and readily extensible and attachable to a window sill or the like for use outside of the building.

Very serious accidents have been frequently caused by fire and smoke in the burning of dwellings, hotels, schools and other buildings because exits or egress even by fire escapes alfixed to such buildings have been blockaded by flame and smoke. The occupants of upstair rooms in such fires have often been unable to use a descending stairway or escape particularly in view of the fact that open stairways produce a flue action for flames and smoke.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple, comparatively inexpensive, portable fire escape device which may be very compactly collapsed for storage in a room, closet or small alcove and which may be very quickly carried to the sill of an open window of a build ing floor above ground level and readily and efliciently secured to the window sill with sections extended downwardly to make escape possible from room to the ground.

A further object is the provision of a fire escape device of the class described wherein a plurality of rigid ladder sections are so hinged together at adjacent ends that they may be collapsed in side by side compact relation or readily extended to form a continuous escape or ladder of adequate length to permit escape from an upstairs floor and wherein attachment and support of the device in use is effected through elficient members which positively engage the inside sills of a window or opening in a building Wall.

A still further object is the provision of a highly eflicient, sturdy fire escape of the class described wherein attachment and supporting parts for a plurality of ladder sections as well as a means of abutment and spacing of the ladder from the wall in use, all are connected with the ladder sections in such manner that they may be collapsed in the integral compact structure for storage.

A still further object is the provision of a fire escape structure of the class described which is so light in weight and simple in construction that even a feeble person and one unskilled in mechanics can readily use the same and can properly attach the upper end of the escape to a sill for use.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which: a

FIG. 1 is a vertical section taken through a wall of a two story building showing the application of my portable fire escape for operation to a sill of the second story window;

FIG. 2 in a front elevation of the fire escape device extended, before the supporting and securing hooks at the upper portion of the device are extended upwardly for engagement with a window sill;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the same embodiment of the invention with ladder sections in the entire device compactly collapsed for storage in an upright position; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the collapsed device shown in FIG. 4.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, I provide a plurality of ladder sections identified as entireties by the letters 8-1, 8-2 and 8-3, each as shown being identical in construction and comprising in each instance a pair of parallel opposed spaced rigid rails '7 preferably but not necessarily being constructed of very light channel members having the outturned flanges 7a thereof disposed outwardly of the ladder section. Such materials as a number of the different aluminum alloys are well suited for my construction.

Each of said ladder sections includes a plurality, as shown four, spaced rigid rung members 8 which preferably are tubular and are welded or are otherwise rigidly secured at their ends to the respective rails 7. It will be noted that the rungs 8 in each section are so arranged with reference to the elongated rails 7 that the ends of the rails extend for a considerable distance in each instance above or below the end rungs.

The ends of the successive ladder sections S1, S-2 and S3 are hingedly coupled together by a very strong and efficient hinge structure to provide for rapid and sure extension of the structure from the collapsed stored position shown in FIG. 4 to the positions of the ladder sections shown in FIGS. 1-3 inclusive. As shown, the lower ends of the rails 7 of section S1 are each hingedly connected to the appropriate upper ends of the rails 7 of section S2 and the lower ends of section 8-2 are similarly connected to the upper ends of the rails 7 of section S3. The preferred embodiment of the efficient hinge coupling construction illustrated for each hinge connection comprises a pair of opposed heavy hinge plates 9 and 16 respectively. The inner plate of each pair having a slightly ofiset medial portion to clear edges of the channel rails 7 while the outer hinged plate 10 is provided with a rather deeply ofiset central portion 10a to adequately clear the outturned wider flanges 7a of the rail channel members. The flat end attachment portions of each pair of the hinge plates 9 and 10 are pivotally secured to the appropriate medial portion of the appropriate rail 7 by common, heavy nutted bolts 11 and the outer ends of the bolts are preferably slightly swedged to positively prevent disconnection of the bolts with the coupled parts.

At the upper end of the first ladder section S-1 and slidably secured for upward extension from each of the rails 7 of said section, I provide very strong attachment and support means for cooperating with Window sills varying substantially in width and dimensions. As shown, the upper portions of each of the rails 7 of the first ladder section S1 are provided with rigid inverted U-shaped sill-engaging rods 12 which have inward vertical shanks 12a slidably mounted for longitudinal extension in heavy angle brackets 13 which as shown are pivotally bolted by heavy bolts to the respective upper ends of the rail 7 of ladder section S1. The flat pivotally attached portions 13:: of the angle brackets are confined for restricted swinging movement between the outstanding flanges 7a of the respective rails. The outwardly disposed flanges 13b of the angle brackets are centrally apertured at 13c to nicely accommodate the heavy shanks 12a and shanks 12a at their lower ends are provided with permanently and rigidly attached enlarged abutments 12b.

The U-shaped supporting and securing members 12 include medial horizontal rod portions and depending hook arms 12d which terminate in free ends. The members 12 may be swung outwardly to the position shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 then lying substantially in planes perpendicular to the wide elongated fiaces of the channel rails 7 or they may be swung when slightly extended by raising of the shanks 12a above the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to cause the medial portions or arms 12c to overlie the top ends of the ladder section above the top rungs of that section as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In said last mentioned position of the two supporting and securing means 12 the members are very closely collapsed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 with the general structure.

One or more sets of wall-spacing members 14 are provided for my fire escape device. In the form shown, a set or pair of such spacing structure is provided on the lower rung of each of the sections S-l, S-2 and S3 for use when the ladder is extended for escape purposes. The members 14 are in the form of rigid bars having their inner ends pivoted to the appropriate rungs and confined in pivotal relation to prevent inward displacement of the pivoted ends upon the respective rungs. Any suitable means such as welded or soldered lugs 14a may be applied to the appropriate portions of the rungs for such purpose. In use these abutment bars 14 are swung outwardly by gravity to positions perpendicular to the length of the fire escape device being stopped in their downward swinging movements by narrow cross bars 15 which traverse the appropriate end portions of the rails 7 as clearly shown in FIG. 3.

When the sections and device are collapsed as shown in FIGS. and 5, the abutment bars 14- are swung upwardly into substantialy longitudinal alignment with the respective rails 7.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the entire fire escape device may be very compactly collapsed by swinging the ladder sections together as clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. *In such position the supporting and securing U-rods 12 are compactly disposed in unobstructing position and the spacing and abutting bars 14 are confined within the rails of their respective sections. Assuming the ladder sections to each be four feet in length (merely exemplary) the entire device when collapsed may be housed in a volumetric space approximating four feet by two feed in width and a depth of eighteen inches.

In use the devise is so light that even a child or feeble person can readily carry it to an open window in the case of fire, swing the hook sections or supporting members 12 to the outturned position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 thrust the sections out of the window and secure the rod members 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1, to the window sill. The outward swinging or extension of the several ladder sections causes the spacing arms 14 to swing outward to approximate horizontal positions where their outer ends will engage the exterior wall of the building thus spacing the entire ladder structure in most convenient relation for a person to escape and descend thereon, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 1.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention which consists of the matter shown and described herein and set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A portable fire escape device comprising a plurality of rigid ladder sections, each having a pair of spaced nails consisting of parallel flat strip portions integrally united by a thin web portion, the rails of each section being interconnected by a plurality of vertically spaced rungs extending between and connected to the Web portions of said rails, said sections being successively hinged together at abutting end portions thereof for folding of said sections into compact parallel side-by-side relationship by hinge connections between the lower ends of the rails of one section and the upper ends of the rails of an adjacent section, each hinge connection comprising a pair of spaced elongate hinge plates whose end portions are pivotally connected to opposite sides of the web portions of the rails coupled thereby, said hinge plates having medial portions for enclosing therebetween the opposed flat strip portions of the coupled rail sections when in folded condition, said hinge plates preventing relative lateral movement between adjacent ladder sections, mechanism mounted on the upper end portions of the rails of the top ladder section for supporting the entire sectional device from the sill of an upper window of a building, said mechanism comprising generally U-shaped hook elements for engaging the window sills to suspend the sections therefrom, said hook elements including vertical shank portions and attachment bracket for each of said shanks pivotally connected to a rail of said section adjacent the upper end thereof for limited swinging about a horizontal axis parallel to the plane of the ladder section, said brackets having an outstanding horizontal flange apertured to slidably receive the associated shank, said shanks terminating in enlarged abutment members adapted to engage said bracket to limit upward movement of said shanks, said shanks being adapted for free falling and up ward movement with respect to said sections for free extensible and retractable movement with respect thereto, the upper portion hooks being adapted for inward swinging movement about the vertical axis provided by their shanks to overlie and rest upon the upper end of said upper ladder section and retracted substantially parallel side-by-side relationship for compact storage thereof, and spacer elements swingably mounted on each ladder section for collapsing inwardly against the rung structure when the device is folded and swingable outwardly to a position generally perpendicular to said ladder sections, the length of the spacer elements on said sections progressively increasing downwardly and said spacer elements when in the outwardly projecting position having free outer end portions adapted to abut with the vertical wall of a building and maintain the unfolded sections in outwardly declining angular relationship with respect to said wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

